yohy

Just had a similar situation with my '97 L, on again, off again, CEL. The car is my son's who is away at school. As it was intermittent and I was going to have the car over Labor Day, we let it go. Anyhow, he would tell me the car just didn't have the normal power when the light was on. Luckily, when I got the car the light was on, pulled the code and it was the knock sensor. Seems that when the light was on, the ECU was probably retarding the spark, so the car was a bit sluggish. Again, I would try to pull the code (if your anywhere near Portland, ME I would be happy to assist!), in my case it was easy enough.

Kevin, Thanks for the tip but for now the issue seems to have subsided. What ever issue tripped the check engine light seems to have corrected itself. Just hope we don't get into the on->off->on scenario. Again, we will file your recommendation away with hopes on not having to rely on it. Thanks and regards, John

Can anyone recommend a good independent shop in the Albany/Troy, NY area? Got a son in grad school and the check engine light just came on, not a big deal if he was home but seeing he is 5+ hours away it looks like I will have to pay someone else to check it out. Oh, 1997 L with 160K. I will send him to Autozone to have the code read but if he needs work done I would appreciate any thoughts on shops in the area. Thanks.

OK, here's what happened, the dang bolt just backed out, didn't shear, didn't break, just came loose and dropped out, so the threads were fine. The last time the rear brakes were worked on I did pads and rotors about 18 months ago. Now I am very specific about using factory torque specs on everything I touch, so I am puzzled why this happened. I checked the other three wheels and every upper and lower bolt were to spec. According to the two mechanics I spoke with, they had never seen it happen. Great, I get to be the #1. Anyhow, when I would hit a sharp bump, it would kick the caliper up, hitting the inside of the rim. Now this amount of travel didn't move the caliper off the rotor, so the pads weren't in danger of dislodging or dropping out (a good thing), but when it hit the rim, it did make one heck of a noise.

As embarrassed as I am to say this, the problem, which was diagnosed by the mechanic at the stealership (I gave up) was the lower bolt holding the right rear caliper had fallen out allowing the caliper to pivot upward (after hitting a sharp bump) and strike the inside of the rim. This would explain why the noise wouldn’t occur with the brakes applied as well as why the noise starting immediately with no ramp up. Thought this would be an interesting situation to put away “just in case”.

Roger that. I did have it up on ramps and went around with a rubber mallet to see if I could find anything loose, then jacked it up, pulled the rear wheels and repeated the "whacking" process. Couldn't find anything obvious but will pull the wheels and recheck the struts.

A noise has developed rather quickly in the rear area of the 1997 Legacy L AWD sedan with auto (157,000 miles). The noise is generated by hitting sharp bumps (pothole type), comes from the rear end area and sounds just like a loose toolbox in the trunk, a sharp clunk/thump/rattle. At first I thought it was the muffler hitting the heat shield (I was able to move the exhaust enough to do that), so I replaced all of the rubber mounts on the muffler. It tightened it up so it wouldn’t contact the heat shield but had no effect on the noise. Now here is another interesting characteristic, the noise will not occur if the brakes are applied. If the service brake is applied the noise will not occur and if using the parking brake, it diminishes but does not disappear. Couple of other inputs, on Monday I had the car on a lift for an inspection then the same day it was in for a rotate and balance. With that, the noise didn’t develop until Thursday and it was instantaneous. Any comments/suggestions would be welcome.

Yes, they exist..but I couldn't find any in the NYC area. I remember reading about this years ago (along with woodworking shops with similar deals). A few of the google hits: Hamilton, Ontario http://www.rentabay.com/self_links/self.html Westland, MI http://www.usarentabay.net/1409969.html

Driving position in a Forester is more upright, a long road test would be needed considering your 6'2" frame. Also, you lose 18" of space behind the rear seat in the Forester vs. Outback.

unless you have a good set of lungs!

On my '97 LL, I pulled the line off the car and did the same "suck test" as described by srs_49. As the valve appeared to working correctly, I decided not to introduce any chemicals but rather just compressed air. Put it back on the car and in the last week with temps still at or below -0- at night, the brakes have been fine, no issues at all on start up. As mentioned, for a fix that takes 10 minutes and costs zero dollars, you can't beat it.

1997 Legacy L sedan, auto at 155K started to exhibit this cold weather brake issue during the last cold snap for the first time. Now brake fluid changed last fall and at that time, each brake was pulled apart, lubed and checked for proper operation. With this, I am leaning away from a "at the wheel" brake issue. srs_49, did you ever look at your power brake check valve as a possible source of the problem (mentioned by weddes05)? On my end, the car is now a few hours away (kid-college), so the diagnosis is long distance.

1993 Legacy L wagon 5spd had 183,000 when we traded it for the 04 Forester. Clutch was perfect, no slippage, good feel. Dealership was astounded that it was the original clutch.

When purchasing parts I typically will shy away from the dealerships unless (1) I am in desperate need or (2) the parts are cheap enough to offset shipping charges. Well I happened to stop into the parts department at Maine Mall Motors, checking prices on valve cover gaskets and grommets for my Legacy. When he (Kevin Bennett) gave me the prices, I said “Thanks but no thanks as I can get them far cheaper on-line” to which he replies, “you bring me proof and I will price match, as long as I’m not losing money”. I said fine, went home, printed off the prices from subarupartsforyou, went back and as he said, he priced matched and didn’t include the cost of shipping (which some stores do when matching internet pricing). Needless to say, I was amazed. Now I offered to post this experience on a forum of very active Subaru owners, to which he replied, please do as he is in the business of selling parts. With that, he doesn’t want to get into shipping, so counter sales only. He said he will answer email inquires, so use mmmparts@berlincity.com. Just remember, he will need to see prices so he can match them. Again, Kevin Bennett at Maine Mall Motors. Enjoy.

I just emailed you two files, first is the component breakdown and second is the service procedure. The are for my '97 Legacy L but should be the same for your '95. Advise if you need further.

Several times a year, I take the hose with the nozzle set at “jet”, open up each front door and point the flow at the opening where the fender meets the door sill. I get the nozzle close to cut down on the splash back, but just let it run for a minute or two. This process will flush out the problem area. Now I became acquainted with the problem of dirt getting caught in that area when I pulled the fenders off of my ’93 due to rust on the dog legs. right where all of the road dirt collects. I was amazed when I had to dig out several pounds of packed in dirt (yep with all of that winter salt) from that area. Anyhow, up till the time I sold that car, I was amazed at how much dirt I would break loose each time I hosed it off. Now I own a 97 Legacy and it has the same dirt trap and again, am amazed at how much dirt/sand gets flushed out each time. Just did it a few days ago. Now my 04 Forester doesn’t seem to have the problem, but for the few minutes it takes to flush the area, it does keep the drain holes clear.

Just curious, how was the play in the ball and socket joint? Oh, nice job cleaning up the old one.

JPX, Put an inner tie rod end on my ’97 recently (passenger side). The only real pain was the lock washer that secures the tie rod to the rack; it sits behind the ball and socket joint and is bent over end of the tie rod. You can see it clearly in the second picture at http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?p=13485186#post13485186. After getting the lock washer straightened out, you have to unscrew the tie rod from the end of the shaft. If I remember, I couldn’t get an open-end wrench on the flats (some suspension component was in the way), so I used a pipe wrench to break it loose, worked fine. By luck of the draw I could get to the flats when I put it back together. Now they do make a specialty tool (yes an inner tie rod wrench, see: http://www.sjdiscounttools.com/lis45750.html) but the pipe wrench seemed to work just fine.

kvaleras, If the boots are shot I would be suspect of the ball and socket joint on the inner tie rod end. This could possibly be the source of the clanking sound you are hearing. Now they are a bit of a pain to replace (recently did the passenger side on my 97), so if you can get a shop to do it for the $100 a side, it might be worth it. Oh the inner tie rod is around $50 ish.

Your the best. Thanks.

If you don't mind: VIN Number: WAULC68E83A394639 email: yohy@hotmail.com Long story, I will email you the details. Thanks much.

scorch, Yes, there are inner tie rods on each end of the rack. Check the boots for cracks/tears. The inner joint is a ball and socket, if the boot has failed, water/road grime gets to it and it will seize up. Try this, grab the tie rod, you should be able to get some motion (rotational) between the outer and the inner joint. If it’s not free you could get a “clunk” sound usually when turning and hitting a bump. Just a thought, but again, check the boots first.

Andyjo, I believe you can tell the age of the forum member by his interpretation of the title. For me, I am old enough NOT to have to worry about those consequences.

Another endwrench article on the issue: http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/OtherInfo.pdf

Believe me, I am most certain with regards to what "piston slap" sounds like and the various characteristics of “slap”. It is a cold start issue, sounds like a diesel that slowly dissipates as the engine warms up. Have been dealing with it for years. Check out http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/coldEngine.pdf Now nipper, I didn’t replace the tensioner as it fell within all parameters, oil leakage, rod extension, etc. Now the endwrench article mentions the tensioner, belt and sprockets as potential sources of noises that sound like deep internal knock. I have taken the car to three different dealers over the last several years to get their opinions and all come up with the same issue, piston slap. But, if the symptoms are gone….yippee as it was a rather embarrassing noise and did sound as if the engine was going to come apart. Lastly, grossgary, this was my first attempt at a timing belt, so I was just pleased when I turned the key and it started. This unintended consequence just makes the satisfaction that much greater.